Paul Hart clarifies Tommaso Bianchi's injury situation at Leeds

Bianchi has not played a single competitive game this season after suffering a knee injury in pre-season, and Paul Hart has clarified his injury status to TV Yorkshire following the 63 minute appearance the Italian midfielder made for the Under-21s on Monday.

Hart said: “He got a little cut on his eyebrow, but he’s now okay. His knee, more importantly, he felt good with that [at the end of the game].”

Bianchi played 63 minutes of the Under-21 game with Bolton on Monday, a fixture that ended 3-3.

It was the first action Bianchi has played since pre-season, when he featured fairly frequently under Uwe Rosler. This followed a hot-and-cold debut season in England, where he showed a series of solid displays, without every really standing out from the crowd.

Hart has claimed that his knee was feeling fine at the end of playing 63 minutes, so it is merely a case of playing more and more at that level before being slowly reintroduced to competitive action over the coming month.

There are no indications that head coach Steve Evans is a fan of Bianchi, or if he sees the Italian as part of his midfield, but the 26-year-old’s return ensures that Leeds possess extra cover in the midfield third heading into the crazy scheduling of the winter months.

Billy Hawkins

Billy is a freelance writer who contributes to various sites concerning football. Known to possess an obsession with statistics, Eastern European club sides, and Victorian football, he focuses upon the untapped potential of the Football League in the belief it is more enjoyable than the Premier League.